Processor systems have grown in complexity and sophistication in recent years. Network operators are seeking next-generation solutions that have increased performance, such as increased features and speed, as well as improved manageability and reduced complexity. Increases in performance in single processor systems can be achieved without complicating management and complexity by upgrading systems to run faster processors as they become available. While symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) processors can add more computing power in the way of instructions executed per-second, these processors can still be bottlenecked by a single network input/output (IO) interface or by cache-contention when running advanced networking applications.
In many networking applications, relying solely on Moore's law for processor improvements has not kept pace with performance requirements. For these applications, additional scalability is often achieved by introducing loadbalancers that distribute load across multiple systems. A challenge with the multiple system approach is that each system needs its own network layer addressing (Layer 2 and Layer 3), and each system must be managed independently such as for configuration and monitoring functions.